tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post2069434135458759147..comments2023-12-30T17:31:11.883+00:00Comments on The Solitary Walker: Flame Into BeingThe Solitary Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-85872124067465383612013-10-18T19:23:10.547+01:002013-10-18T19:23:10.547+01:00Yes, if it were me, Wendy, I'd read Sons and L...Yes, if it were me, Wendy, I'd read Sons and Lovers, and, if you are entranced, The Rainbow followed by Women in Love. Alongside, dip into his poetry, perhaps Birds, Beasts and Flowers.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-87349059791287769222013-10-18T08:06:59.692+01:002013-10-18T08:06:59.692+01:00I was going to come and ask for a suggestion for a...I was going to come and ask for a suggestion for a new DHL reader as well - shall look around for Sons and Lovers (I miss used bookstores with English books in them!)...<br /><br />also, I just replied to your comment on my recent post - I'll borrow Ruth's "better late than never" for that :-)Wendyhttp://smyeryu.com/wendynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-69006331256542957502013-10-16T10:01:49.633+01:002013-10-16T10:01:49.633+01:00Start with Sons and Lovers...Start with Sons and Lovers...The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-79655267659534242092013-10-15T22:55:50.635+01:002013-10-15T22:55:50.635+01:00Can you recommend a good one of his to start with?...Can you recommend a good one of his to start with? I was turned off him in high school (can't remember which book, maybe Lady C) -- but it's just possible that I've matured since then without realising it.Goathttp://thegoatthatwrote.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-47819882302603140862013-10-15T12:00:09.489+01:002013-10-15T12:00:09.489+01:00Yes, I remembered you liked DHL, Andy, and he sure...Yes, I remembered you liked DHL, Andy, and he sure does add to life. It's so poignant how he kept on living, and resurrecting, and denying his illness during his last years of suffering from tuberculosis.<br /><br />I'm not exactly sure how many university courses have dumbed down in this way, so I shouldn't be generalising, I suppose. All I really wanted to say was that practical and analytical criticism, the shaking-out of a text and all its possible meanings and ramifications, is such a worthwhile study, as Ruth says above, and such a good preparation for future life and work. To make the brain stretch like this is brilliant, and a great antidote to texts, blogs, tweets, soundbites, adverts and all the other superficial adjuncts of our daily lives — though everything has its place.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-6427645321345824782013-10-14T16:12:38.202+01:002013-10-14T16:12:38.202+01:00Thanks Robert - like you I love DHL, and this is a...Thanks Robert - like you I love DHL, and this is a strong reminder to read him again. He adds to life!<br /><br />My daughter is doing English A Level - she is certainly doing practical criticism as part of that (although she favours Social Policy at University).<br /><br />thanks!<br /><br />AndyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-51084709895000435652013-10-14T13:33:01.686+01:002013-10-14T13:33:01.686+01:00I think you are absolutely right on track here, Ru...I think you are absolutely right on track here, Ruth. In this materialist and careerist age it makes perfect sense — in fact it's essential — to join the dots between clear, intelligent, lateral and analytical literary thinking, and a viable job. And no discipline could provide a better grounding for work and life than an English major (or Modern Languages or Philosophy).<br /><br />DHL is a beacon, but you'll find he may annoy you just as much as he seduces you! But worth the price in spades. The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-88351844619478400032013-10-14T11:50:26.119+01:002013-10-14T11:50:26.119+01:00It is comforting to read about that same library b...It is comforting to read about that same library book with your signature (not just a date stamp).<br /><br />Thanks to you I am discover DHL. A bit late, but better LTN.<br /><br />Thanks for pointing out his strengths, which are interesting to meditate on in their own right.<br /><br />As for English students not doing practical criticism, I'm sorry to hear that. I wonder if it is true across the UK? (except the ones you've mentioned) I am at the start of a recruitment campaign for the English major at my university. We have seen our numbers drop by half since I began in 2001 (from 1,000 to a little over 500, in a university of 40,000 students. We are pretty certain that the reason is the fear of making a living with such a degree. So we are focusing our attention on the strengths of the major itself, and also connecting the dots to viable jobs. One of the great strengths we're focusing on is critical analysis, something we teach with close reading in the intro class, and develop through the course of study. I hope what you heard on the radio is not true there! It is this sort of close reading of form that develops part of the brain not used when reading only for pleasure. It's a skill a person can apply to any task in life.<br /><br />OK, I'll get off my academic adviser soapbox. :)Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-84492408169066371142013-10-14T10:25:40.688+01:002013-10-14T10:25:40.688+01:00Yes, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, ...Yes, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, Lady Chatterley... You must have been reading them at the same time as me, Am!<br /><br />I've never managed to get into many of his less well-known novels, though, as there are some glaring faults and strange obsessions in them. But that's Lawrence all over; you have to take the rough with the smooth. I've been reading some of his letters recently, and they are fantastic, if sometimes slightly messianic and hectoring. Though they can also be heartbreakingly tender and sympathetic. Words and ideas just pour out of him. But he's a bit of a control freak. The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-7165875349769122972013-10-14T10:19:02.493+01:002013-10-14T10:19:02.493+01:00Thanks for your comment, Dritanje.
I've just ...Thanks for your comment, Dritanje.<br /><br />I've just heard on Radio 4 ('Start the Week') that students of English no longer do Practical Criticism, the detailed analysis of texts, their meanings, ambiguities and contexts. (I doubt whether this includes Oxbridge or Edinburgh, but you never know these days.) Have the lessons — rigorous, but valuable and exciting — of Richards, Empson, Leavis and Ricks been completely abandoned now for soundbites, summaries and multi-media frou-frou?The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-2082051441549295582013-10-13T23:04:10.928+01:002013-10-13T23:04:10.928+01:00"Lawrence taught us, among many other things,..."Lawrence taught us, among many other things, that literature is subversive, that sex is important and tender, and that we must have courage in our contradictions. Amen to all of this."<br /><br />Intriguing that you read from the same library book that you read from so many years ago. D.H. Lawrence made a lasting impression on me that I only realized fully while reading your post this afternoon. I clearly remember reading Lady Chatterley's Lover, Sons and Lovers, and The Rainbow as a young woman. It could well be that my vivid rainbow dream in 2008 which led me to change the name of my blog to Talking 37th Dream with Rainbow had its birth in the fall of 1971 when I read The Rainbow.amhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212213177713917828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-4378552440198241362013-10-13T22:28:56.602+01:002013-10-13T22:28:56.602+01:00wonderful to read your perceptive celebration of L...wonderful to read your perceptive celebration of Lawrence! Good to be reminded too - that 'literature is subversive' (Picasso also pointed out that art is, and should be!)'Courage in our contradictions' - yes. I was quite sad to hear a younger generation student of Eng Lit say she didn't think much of Lawrence. I thought of all the work it takes to write a novel (any novel!), the inspiration he gave me. And how little effort it takes to be dismissive. Thanks for this, solitary walker.dritanjehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16025213970107184429noreply@blogger.com